Love Is The Strongest Thing
by DarkArrow225
Summary: Stella and Mac have been together for a little while now, but now they must face four strangers who plan to kill them. When each other is all they have, can they overcome their horrible fates?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

**Well, I'm back again with a new scheme of trouble for the CSI: NY team. Hope you enjoy this one and I also hope you liked, or like if you haven't read it, my first work for : "Mind Games."**

**So, to the story:**

"Stella!" Mac complained, batting Stella's hand away from his head and looking up at her through narrowed eyes.

Stella giggled and plopped herself down on the bed beside him. "Someone's grouchy!" she teased.

Mac smirked and shoved her arm playfully away, "Yeah! Someone didn't have coffee this morning!" he reminded her.

"Ooohhhh!" Stella said, her chin rested in her hands. "Do tell!"

"Early call out, that's why I'm home early," Mac yawned, stretching.

"Well, that isn't a bad thing, now is it?" Stella asked. Mac smiled and narrowed his eyes as she got a little closer. "Tell me you're not taking my hint and I'll slap your head right off your shoulders," Stella told him.

Mac just smirked and kissed her. "Well, did I ever say I was going to stop you?" he asked.

Stella smirked and shoved him in the shoulder roughly, making Mac smirk again. Stella then smiled and sat up, looking down at him as he laid there with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed neatly at the foot of the bed. She smiled and continued to just look for a moment before she snaked a hand under his shirt.

Mac smiled, "I thought you were going to sit there tempting me for hours!" he teased.

Stella narrowed her eyes and swatted at his hand playfully as Mac had brought his hands out from behind his head.

Mac laughed and batted back at her. Stella stopped and glared at him for a moment, making Mac smile. "What?" he asked innocently.

"Do I need to get the handcuffs?" she asked with a hint of mischievousness in her eyes.

Mac shrugged, "I'll be good," he said, holding his hands up in the air.

Stella smirked and yanked his shirt off. "Really?" she asked as Mac sat up with a grin on his face.

"Only if you don't want me to play bad boy," he told her.

Stella wrapped her arms around his neck and looked him in the eyes. "You are _so_ funny sometimes, you know that, right?"

Mac smiled and nodded. "You can bet on it," he replied.

Stella narrowed her eyes again at him. "Then again, you're a pain in the ass other times," she pointed out, mussing up his hair.

Mac only smiled as he let her. "Yeah, I know. It's something that must be in my genetics," he said.

Stella nodded, "You think so?" she asked.

Mac nodded. "No doubt about it!" he replied.

"Yeah. Had it since I joined your team, so it must be at the damn genetic level," she said. That made both of them laugh.

Then they heard a knock on the door. Mac sighed and Stella let him get up. "Wonder who it could be?" Mac said as he walked out to get the door.

"Probably Danny if I know him well enough," Stella said.

Mac smirked and opened the door. He frowned a bit when he didn't recognize who was there, but he didn't even have time to ask what was going on before the person punched him square on the nose. Mac stumbled backwards in surprise and looked at the person, struggling to get a grasp on what just happened and what was going on right before his eyes.

Three others joined the first person, which Mac had identified as a male standing at roughly 6 feet tall. The trio that joined the man consisted of two females and one other male.

The two men grabbed Mac and Mac struggled with them.

"Ah, fuck," he heard one of the men mutter behind him. Then he felt a cloth over his mouth and nose and he struggled even more. He finally understood what was going on.

Then he heard Stella scream from the bedroom. Mac managed to pull away from the hand of one of the men long enough to yell her name before the drug finally set in and the world around him faded in to darkness.

The two men stood over their unconscious hostage and looked up as the two girls joined them with a struggling Stella held between them.

"We have to get out of here fast, people would've heard her scream," one of the men said.

One of the girls nodded. She had black hair, "Yeah, you and Jake can get him in the van. Me and Sasha already took care of the security cameras," she said.

The one named Jake nodded. "You got a hold of her, Fi?" he asked.

Sasha, who had brown hair, looked at him. "Mind your own damn business, Jake! We got this!" she growled.

Jake shook his head and held his hands up for a moment before he and the other man grabbed Mac and started for the van parked not too far from the apartment in the parking garage.

Fi and Sasha looked to Stella who silently glared at both of them. After a moment of the three standing there, Stella finally asked, "What do you want with us?"

Fi and Sasha exchanged a glance and laughed as they started leading Stella down the hall after Jake, his partner, and Mac. "You'll see. Jake and Dawson are going to have so much fun watching your reaction!" Sasha told her. She and Fi laughed yet again.

Stella looked down at the ground. What was that supposed to mean? What were they going to do with her? More importantly, at least to Stella, what were they going to do with Mac?

Soon, Stella found herself in the back of a dark colored van beside the still unconscious Mac. She sat beside him, a hand on his arm and her wary gaze locked on their four kidnappers.

She didn't know how long she had sat there but she felt Mac moved underneath her hand and she looked back down at him to see him looking back at her.

"You alright?" It was the first thing Mac's mind could muster up to say.

"Yeah, I'm fine. You?" she asked.

"Fine," Mac replied, sitting up. He looked over at Stella, "Who are they?"

"I heard the names Jake, Dawson, Fi, and Sasha," Stella said quietly, indicating each of the four people up front when she said their name.

Mac nodded. "Did they say anything about what they were going to do?" he asked.

Stella looked at him and Mac couldn't help but notice how worried she looked. He laid a hand on her shoulder and a look of concern crossed his face. "Stella, what'd they say?" he asked her again.

Stella took comfort from the gentle tone he used and strength from his determination to get an answer. "I don't know what they're planning, but it didn't sound very nice," she finally said.

Mac nodded, "What did they say?" he asked again.

"The girls said the Jake and Dawson would love watching my reaction," she said. She paused for a moment, "Mac, I'm scared for you," she said.

She felt Mac put an arm around her and Stella took his other hand in one of hers. She couldn't bring herself to look up at him. After a moment of silence, she heard Mac tell her, "I'm going to fine. They can do whatever they want to me, but I'll be fine as long as you're not hurt in this."


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Mac and Stella were allowed out of the van, it was night. Mac was tempted to give one of the four of their kidnappers a bloody nose in return for him receiving one, but the feeling of cold metal against his skin kept him quiet. That combined with the fact that Stella was being held be the men in the group, Jake and Dawson as Stella had said, and Mac was tense and worried.

"You're not going to make us hurt her, are you?" Fi purred in his ear from behind him.

A flash of irritation sparked in Mac's eyes. "You leave her alone," he growled.

They'd come across his handcuffs and Mac knew he would never find another feeling to compare the feeling of his own set of handcuffs on his wrists to. Right now he was only cooperating as Fi and Sasha led him onwards because they had Stella. He didn't want her to be hurt.

The four kidnappers took Mac and Stella in to an old house. From the looks of his surroundings, Mac figured they were several miles outside of the city.

Jake and Dawson led the way to a bedroom, sitting Stella down on one side of the bed in the room as Fi and Sasha sat Mac down on the other.

Sasha was the last to leave the room, but, before she did, she looked back at Stella and Mac and said, "You two can just stay here and wonder over what we're going to do for a few hours. We'll be back."

Stella instantly pulled herself a little farther on to the bed and ended up right beside Mac. She laid a hand on his shoulder as she looked down at his handcuffs. She had nothing to pick the lock with. She frowned and cursed under her breath.

Mac looked at her. "What is it, Stell?" he asked.

"I've got nothing to get you out of those," she said as she put her arms loosely around his neck as she stayed close to him. She was scared and she took comfort from Mac's calm composure. It was only then that she realized he didn't have a shirt on after she pulled off his t-shirt back at his place.

"It's fine Stell," Mac told her as Stella rested her chin on his shoulder. He was just glad they hadn't decided to handcuff her hands as well.

Stella sighed. She was worried about what they were going to do to him, they're ominous words ringing in her ears.

A few hours later, Fi and Sasha came back alone without Jake and Dawson. Fi stood Stella up and held her back as Sasha sat down on the bed beside Mac, whose gaze was locked on Stella.

It was then that both him and Stella realized what was to happen and Stella thought she caught a flicker of fear in Mac's gaze before he lowered his eyes and determination replaced that flicker of fear.

He tensed and his head snapped up as Sasha laid a hand on his bare shoulder.

"You stay away from me!" Mac hissed as he turned a defiant glare on the woman seated beside him.

Sasha flashed an evil smile and Fi pulled a gun and aimed it at Stella. "Cooperate or we'll kill her."

Stella's heart broke and sympathy must've registered on her face as she saw the embarrassment show up on Mac's face. She knew he'd do whatever it took to keep her out of this as much as possible, but she would never want him to take it that far.

"Mac, don't…" she told him.

There was a bit of pain showing in Mac's eyes as he looked up at her again, debating over if he should give in to their demands and keep both of them "safe" or if he should refuse and watch them take it out on Stella and him.

He didn't have much time to think as he felt Sasha's hand run down his arm and his gaze instantly fell to study the pattern on the sheets of the bed. Stella tried to pull away from Fi only to feel her rest the gun's barrel against her skin.

Stella looked at Fi with an angry glare. "I won't watch you do this to him," she said.

Fi frowned and rolled her eyes before she led Stella out of the room without asking any questions.

Mac watched her, ignoring Sasha's arms around his neck. He was worried about Stella. He'd heard her tell Fi she wouldn't watch and it made him worry about what Fi would do to her.

Sasha then brought his attention back to her as she grabbed his hair and made him look at her. Mac's ice blue gaze rested on her and Sasha smiled at the disgusted expression on the detective's face.

"Why the sad face, Detective Taylor?" Sasha teased him.

She caught a flash of anger in his gaze and smiled as he remained silent.

"Thought so," she said before she met her lips with his. Mac's eyes went wide and he struggled to pull away from her only to find her hand on his shoulder, keeping him where he was.

This was going to be a very long night.

Don stretched and yawned, grabbing his phone to check the time. He frowned. He was supposed to get a call from Mac a few hours ago.

After three failed attempts on calling Mac and Stella, Don headed to the lab. It wasn't like those two to not answer their phones, even at 10:00 pm at night.

"Adam," Don said as he walked in to the A/V Lab. Adam looked up and saw the worried expression on Don's face.

"Don, what's wrong?" Adam asked, concerned.

"I need you to get me a trace on Mac and Stella's phones," Don said. "I've tried calling both of them and neither of them answered."

Adam nodded. That was news to him so he turned back to the computer and entered Mac's number in the system first, letting it triangulate a location.

"Well, if Mac's where his phone is, he's in his apartment," Adam said. He then ran Stella's. Her phone was also in Mac's apartment. The whole team knew about their relationship after Mac's public proposal to her in front of the team so it didn't surprise Adam that that was where both their phones were.

Don nodded and headed in to the lab and found Danny to go with him to check out Mac's apartment. Something about those two not answering unnerved him.

Sasha had finally lost her patience with Mac and she slapped him hard with the backside of her hand. Mac flinched from the blow and the ring on her finger left a small cut right under Mac's eye. He looked at her, struggling to get as far away from her as possible before she pushed him back against the bed. Mac stared back up at her and couldn't keep the small light of fear from showing in his eyes.

"FI! GET IN HERE!" Sasha yelled, not taking her eyes off of Mac who was pinned down to the bed under Sasha's weight. His hands were still cuffed behind his back which left him pretty uncomfortable.

Fi walked in to the bedroom with a drink in her hand. "Is he giving you hell over it?" she asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed beside Mac and Sasha.

Sasha sat back although she was still sitting on top of Mac. She had one hand laid firmly over his mouth and Mac looked at both women with a defiant gaze that was a bit thrown off by the slight flicker of fear.

Sasha nodded. "You still have the knives here?" she asked.

Fi nodded. "Yeah," she said casually. It was clear to Mac she was high on some sort of drug and possibly a bit drunk as well.

"Good. I'll meet you out there," Sasha said.

Fi nodded and Sasha grabbed Mac's arm roughly, dragging him to his feet and walking him out of the bedroom behind Fi.

She put Mac in a room that had nothing much in it besides a few blankets in the corner. She then left to follow Fi, locking the door behind her.

It wasn't five seconds before Stella's arms were around his neck and her face was buried in his shoulder. "Oh my God, I was so worried about you!" she had exclaimed as she ran over to him.

Mac had been taken by surprise by her being there so quickly, but he kissed the top of her head gently seeing as he couldn't exactly hug her back although that's what he knew he would've done if he hadn't been cuffed.

"What'd she do to you?" Stella asked as she loosened her grip on him.

"I think the worse has yet to come," Mac said, seeming a bit worried. He spun around and put himself in front of Stella as the door opened to reveal Fi and Sasha standing there.

Mac swallowed hard as he took in the weapons in their hands. He felt Stella put a death grip on his arm and he knew she was worried without even looking at her face.

Fi stalked over up to Mac and Mac just stared back at her. She took his chin in one of her hands and gently turned his head to the side to look at the cut under his right eye. Stella fled to the corner of the room and Mac stood quietly as Fi continued to look at the cut.

Sasha joined her and Mac tensed as he felt the blade of the knife in her hand rest teasingly on his shoulder from behind.

He looked back at Fi with a bit of fear in his eyes. "What are you going to do to me?"

Fi and Sasha chuckled and the evil smile that appeared on Fi's face as she ran a hand through his hair chilled Mac to the bone.

"We're going to teach you what happens when you don't play along, Detective Taylor."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: I know this is only the third chapter and this story hasn't received a boatload of reviews, but I think that's all the more reason for me to take a pause and thank those who have reviewed for their continued support as I've read those reviews and I know those who've reviewed this story also gave me reviews for "Mind Games." So, my thanks go out to you readers who R & R this and my other stories. The reviews are greatly appreciated and they're part of why I keep on writing! So, thanks again guys! –DarkArrow225**

_Mac winced as Fi dug the tip of the knife in to his shoulder. Then both of them were attacking him and there was no way Mac could've handled both of their attacks at once. By the time they were finished, Mac was wondering why he hadn't just cooperated with them._

"That should've taught you a lesson!" Sasha and Fi laughed as they shoved Mac to the floor, making him wince as he hit the hard floor back first.

Fi slammed the door closed and both Stella and Mac heard her lock it behind herself and Sasha.

Stella crawled over to him on hands and knees. "You alright?"

Mac winced and sat up carefully. He looked like he was regretting it which was something Stella had almost never seen him do.

She understood why when she got a look at the multiple cuts running down his back, many of them still bleeding. As much as Mac hated to admit it, he couldn't keep his pain from showing up in his eyes and Stella gently laid a hand on one of his shoulders, shock showing in her eyes.

Mac looked at her. "This is only the beginning," he said. He sounded tired, even to himself.

"What do you mean?" Stella asked as she looked at the bruise beginning to form on the side of his face. None of the cuts were deep. They wouldn't have to worry about him dying from blood loss, but they'd have to worry about infection. She needed something to clean him up and cover those cuts to keep that infection away. Hopefully one of the four kidnappers would be nice enough to help them out.

"I rather doubt it," she caught herself mutter. Mac just nodded, seemingly understanding what she had been thinking.

Stella noticed he was holding one arm in close to his body. His other hand supported him in his sitting-up position. "You alright?" she asked again. Concern was etched on her face as she searched his eyes for anything to tell her he was lying.

"No," Mac replied honestly. Stella frowned. That was one of the first times she'd ever had him straight out admit he wasn't ok when she asked him. "No, I'm not," Mac added, shaking his head. "I got slammed against the wall pretty hard and I knocked my arm the wrong way," he said.

Stella nodded and she carefully reached out a hand to touch his arm.

When she did, Mac sucked in a breath and gritted his teeth. "That hurt," he said quietly, slowly letting out the breath as she withdrew her hand and looked at him. That wasn't a good sign.

She frowned and wondered how she should put it to him.

Mac watched her as she struggled to put what she knew in words. "It's fine, Stell. I know. It's probably broken," he said. Stella looked at him and their eyes met. "I'm going to be ok, Stell. We're going to get out of here. Both of us."

Don and Danny had made it to Mac's apartment. They'd found both Mac's and Stella's cars in the parking lot. The two exchanged a glance before they headed up to Mac's apartment.

They knocked first. No answer. Not even a sound. They knocked again. Still no answer.

"Mac! Stella! It's Don and Danny!" Danny called.

Don tried the door. It was unlocked.

They stepped inside carefully. That wasn't like Mac, leaving the door unlocked like that.

It was silent throughout the entire apartment and Don and Danny were alone.

"They're not here," Danny said after a few moments of silence between him and Don.

"Yeah. Their cars are here so where the hell are they?" Don asked.

Danny had wandered off to the bedroom. He returned a moment later with a cell phone in each gloved hand. He held up one of them and said, "Mac's phone is here." He then held up the other, "And so is Stella's. Plus, I think they were interrupted."

"Messer, don't even go there!" Don said, waving a hand at him.

Danny shrugged, "Don, I'm just stating the obvious!" he said. Both of them quickly were back to the real problem though.

"So, what happened and where are they?"

Stella had honestly fallen asleep on Mac's shoulder after the two had retreated to the corner of the room. She woke as she heard the door open. Looking beside her, she saw that Mac was waking up as well although he looked more awake than she felt.

It was Dawson. He looked nervous. "I came as soon as I heard the news," he said quietly.

Mac and Stella fixed a questioning gaze on him. "What do you mean?" Mac asked. To Stella's relief, Mac had used a somewhat demanding tone. That tone that demanded an answer that was truthful as she had heard many a time in interrogation. That meant he was feeling a little better, hopefully.

"About what Fi and Sasha did," Dawson clarified as he stepped inside the room and closed the door tightly behind himself.

Mac nodded. "What are you going to do?" he asked. There was a note of caution in Mac's voice. Stella found herself laying a hand protectively on his good arm.

"The others are different and unlawful, detectives. I'm as much of a hostage as you are. I came to help," Dawson replied. That's when Stella noticed he had an armful of medical supplies. That's what they needed to get Mac fixed up. Stella stood and helped Mac to his feet and the two exchanged a glance.

Mac was the next to speak. "Alright. If what you say is true and you'll help us, we'll do what we can to help you and the three of us will make it out of this mess together."

Dawson nodded and beckoned Mac and Stella over. "Then let's start by getting you cleaned up, Detective Taylor," he said.

Mac and Stella joined Dawson in the center of the room and Dawson started by working on the cuts on Mac's back.

It looked like they might actually have a fighting chance in this nightmare after all.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: I apologize for my absence on writing this, I was away for a little bit, but now I'm back for a little as well! Thankfully, I had an awesome helper to help me get ideas to bring you this next chapter:**

"God damn you, Jake!" That was the voice of Fi. "I thought he was with you!"

Then Fi, Sasha, and Jake were coming through the door. Mac and Stella were already on their feet and Stella had a hand place protectively on Mac's good arm. Dawson stood beside the two of them.

Sasha let out an exasperated sigh and smacked both Fi and Jake on their arms. Both frowned and looked at her. "We'll just use all three of them for the money! You both are idiots! What do we need him for anymore now anyways?" Sasha growled, tossing a hand in the direction of Dawson. "We have two detectives and an "innocent civilian," that ought to get the NYPD's full fucking attention!"

Fi and Jake looked down at the floor in shame. They both mumbled a sorry and exchanged a slightly worried glance. Sasha sighed and rolled her eyes sending both of them off to get ropes to tie their hostages up.

After Fi and Jake left, Sasha turned to look at the three others in the room. Mac and Stella took a hesitant step backwards and Dawson just glared at Sasha.

"What's your fucking problem?" Sasha growled at him. It was pretty clear she was pretty drunk.

"Nothing," Dawson replied flatly. "I'm not the one with the problem," he muttered as he turned away from her to join Mac and Stella.

Mac had to agree. Sasha seemed to have more than just a few easy problems to deal with in his opinion.

Sasha rolled her eyes and pulled a cigarette from a pack she had in her back pocket and lit it, smoking as she waited for Fi and Jake to return.

She looked back at Mac, Stella, and Dawson as she held her cigarette loosely between her fingers, "So, the plan is as follows, ok? We're going to take you to the shed out back and you're going to come quietly or we'll just kill you now and tell whoever the hell answers the damn call that they already need one body bag and we're going to ask for 3 million in ransom. Got it?"

Mac and Stella exchanged a glance. That was a million a piece. That was a lot.

"What's the time frame you're giving them?" Mac asked. He knew he was risking it by asking a question, but he wanted to know how much time the team would have to find them. It would also give Mac an idea on what time they had to escape.

"If we don't have the 3 million by 5 this morning, you're all dead. And I'm starting with you, you mother fucker," Sasha hissed at Mac.

Mac frowned slightly. _You're a mother fucker yourself, bitch,_ he couldn't help but think. He wanted to tell her, but figured it best to keep his mouth shut for the moment.

Finally, Jake and Fi came back in with ropes slung over their shoulders.

Mac exchanged a glance with Stella and then both of them looked at Dawson who nodded.

As Fi, Jake, and Sasha fumbled to organize themselves, Mac, Stella, and Dawson stood and bolted for the door.

"What the…!" Mac heard Jake yell. Then he heard a shot and he shoved Stella forward. "RUN FOR THE WOODS!" he yelled at her and Dawson.

Luckily for them, the back door to the house was open and the three slipped outside with Jake's, Fi's, and Sasha's footsteps not too far behind.

By the time Fi, Sasha, and Jake made it outside, their three hostages had made it to the woods.

Jake and Fi pulled out their own guns and sprinted after them, Sasha on their heels.

"They're NOT going to get away alive, got it?"

Mac and Stella ran blindly forward with Dawson on their heels.

Stella stumbled and Mac kept her on her feet with his good hand on her arm.

"We have to head north," Mac said, breathing hard as they continued their sprint through the woods, "They turned south to get us here, that means there's a road to the north of here!"

"We get to a road, we'll have help," Dawson concluded.

Mac took a moment to pause and give Dawson a nod before continuing onwards at a fast run, "Yup, but we have to move fast. Those three will kill us all if they find us!"

Stella nodded and kept pace with Mac. "You know how to make sure we keep heading north?"

Mac nodded and kept on running, "I was a Marine, remember?"

Stella nodded and a small smile appeared on her face until Mac stumbled. He managed to keep himself on his feet, but Stella noticed he winced as he continued onwards beside her.

"You ok?" she asked.

"Fine," Mac replied, not looking at her.

Dawson looked over his shoulder, "I think we lost them for a bit, we can walk," he said.

Mac and Stella nodded and slowed their pace to a walk. When Mac winced again Stella stopped him. "You're not ok," she said firmly, kneeling down and looking at the cut on his leg. "This is fresh, Mac," she said, standing up with his blood on her hand.

Mac looked at her and nodded. "I can keep going," he said, his voice just a firm as hers had been. "If I can keep going, then I'm fine. I'm not leaving you!" he added. He looked at her, taking in her entire face; he wasn't going to leave her out here alone if he had a choice.

Stella sighed and looked at the determination and love in his blue eyes and allowed herself a smile. "I know, I'm just worried about you," she said.

Mac put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm fine. We need to keep moving." With that, the three of them pushed on.

"Guys, guys, guys, we've got bad news!" Don yelled as he ran in to the conference room where the rest of the team was gathered.

"What's wrong?" Lindsay asked as she stood up.

"We got a ransom call, the callers said they have Mac and Stella, plus another hostage, and said they'd kill them all if we don't do exactly as they said," Don rushed out the story.

"How much do they want?" Danny asked; worry already showing in his eyes and voice.

"Three million dollars in three hours," Don replied breathlessly. It looked like he'd run the entire way from the precinct to the lab.

"Three hours?" Hawkes exclaimed, "We can't pull that off! They'll all be dead by the time we find that kind of money!"

"And with Sinclair being the asshole that he is, I don't think we could ever find that kind of money in the first place," Danny quipped.

Lindsay nodded; worry still showing in her eyes. "We need to find out where they are! NOW!"

Mac was the first to reach the road. He had no idea how long they'd run or how far.

"We made it!" Dawson exclaimed as he joined Mac and Stella on the side of the road.

Stella nodded and smiled a little, noticing relief in Mac's eyes and that he was smiling a little.

"Now we really need to find someone," Mac said.

Stella nodded. "Hopefully we find someone willing to help us," she said.

Mac nodded and then the three of them headed up the road side by side. They _would_ get out of this. They had to.


	5. Chapter 5

Andy Burke was just your everyday guy. He was on his way home from a long shift at his job as a security office. He had lived in this area for about three years with wife, Shelby Burke, and his two young daughters, Anna and Lisel Burke. Knowing that deer had a habit for leaping out on the road in these parts, Andy drove slowly, high beams on to help him see further on the road.

Nothing could've prepared him for what he would come across that night.

He almost missed the three of them at first, but upon a second glance, realized that the three shadowy figures at the edge of his headlight's beam were three humans. He slowed down and stopped, getting out slowly and looking over at the three figures.

"Are you lost?" he asked.

There was one female and two males in the group. The one male was about 6 foot 3 with quite disheveled dirty blonde hair and the other was about 6 foot with blue eyes and brown hair.

"A little bit, we need help. Can you help us?" That was the male with blue eyes.

"Where are you from?" Andy asked.

"New York City," the man replied. "My name is Detective Mac Taylor, this is my partner, Detective Stella Bonasera," he said, introducing himself and the woman.

Andy's eyes went wide and the man didn't continue as Andy exclaimed, "You two are the missing detectives from the NYPD?! I heard they were looking for ransom on all three of you, it was on the news!"

Mac and Stella exchanged a glance. Fi, Sasha, and Jake had tried to trick the team by still making the call in for ransom?

"Yeah, that'd be us," Mac said with a nod. "Can you help us? We're hurt and we need a way to contact the rest of our team," he asked.

Andy nodded. "Of course, my wife and I will get you cleaned up and then you can call your team," he said, nodding to his car to welcome the three on board.

Mac nodded his thanks. "Thank you," Stella said as she helped him to the car. All three of them got in to the car with Andy before Andy continued his drive for his house to give his wife the news and to help out the three that were piled in the backseat of his car.

It was a while later when Don got a call. He'd been pacing in the lab; most of the rest of the team was out hunting for clues on where Mac and Stella had been taken.

"_This is Detective Flack,"_ Don answered his phone with a quiet sigh.

"_Don, it's Mac and Stella,"_ came the reply.

Don stopped pacing abruptly. _"Mac? You guys ok? Where are you?"_ he rushed the questions out as he started for the A/V Lab. Adam was the only one on the team that hadn't gone out.

"_Yeah, yeah, we're fine. We escaped, Dawson is with us,"_ Mac said.

"_Dawson?"_ Don asked.

"_The man that was with us. We heard you got a ransom call for us, we were on the run when Fi, Sasha, and Jake made that call,"_ Mac told him, Don hearing a bit of a wince in his voice.

He shrugged it off. _"Fi? Sasha? Jake?"_ he asked. _"Who are they?"_

"_They kidnapped me and Stella from my apartment, Don, along with Dawson, but Dawson helped us escape. He was forced in to doing this and the three of us made a run for it through the woods. A security officer and his wife, they helped us once we made it to the road,"_ Mac said as he watched Andy's daughters run around him and Stella. Stella was making what Mac thought was a desperate attempt to calm them down and Mac smiled a bit at the thought.

"_Ok, so you're all alright?"_ came the question from Don.

Mac nodded. _"Yeah, we're ok. I broke my arm and I've got a couple lacerations, but we're all ok,"_ he replied.

Don nodded and gave Adam a pat on the back before sprinting out of the lab. _"I'm on my way; I had Adam get a trace on your call."_

"_Alright, we'll see you when you get here."_

Shelby walked over to him, stepping carefully around her two energetic daughters to stand with Mac as he leaned against the wall in the spacious living room. "How's the arm, Detective Taylor?" she asked.

Mac nodded. "It'll take time to heal," he replied. "I broke my other arm before, took me off duty for a good time, but it was paired with broken ribs then," he said.

Shelby nodded. She smiled a little as she watched Stella with her daughters. "You said you two were married?" she asked.

Mac smiled and nodded. "Yeah, ironically I proposed to her in the hospital after my last crossing of paths with my past enemies," he replied.

Shelby nodded and a bit of confusion crossed her face. "May I ask?" she questioned.

Mac shrugged, "Might as well tell the story. They've always said telling is part of the therapy," he said.

Shelby nodded and then her and Mac sat down at the table off to the side of the living room in a bit of a dining room area.

"So, what happened?" Shelby asked curiously.

Mac sighed. "I was attacked one night trying to get gas in my truck," he started. "I got away that night and went to work the next morning where my team and I started to narrow down the details and start to figure out who did it. I went home that night, or started to anyways, and ended up in Brooklyn, where I was kidnapped."

Shelby was a very good listener and Mac told her the entire story, right up to the time the team spent at the bar.

"And that's how we came to get married," he finished, smiling a little bit at the memories.

Shelby smiled, "Not the happiest of stories, but a happy ending none the less," she said.

Mac nodded. "Yeah," he said as he looked back to Stella. "She's an amazing woman."

"And you, a worthy man," Shelby told him.

Mac looked back to her, looking at her for a moment before he smiled a little. "Yeah, you're starting to sound like her," he said.

Shelby smiled. "She's right, you know?" she asked, making Mac look back at her. "I don't know you very well, Detective Taylor, but you seem like you have a good deal of memories and emotions that you seem a little too scared or too stubborn to let show. She's lucky to have you. From what I've seen of you, you're a good man, Detective. Listen to her," she said.

Mac smiled a little after a moment, the truth of Shelby's words hitting home. "Thank you, all of you. For everything," he said.

Shelby offered him a smile. "You're fellow detective on his way?" she asked.

Mac nodded. "He should be here soon if I know him well enough," he said, smirking at the thought of Don driving pretty fast to try and get here.

Shelby smiled, "Then I'll leave you two alone," she said, looking back at Stella.

Mac nodded and smiled a little, watching as Shelby called the kids to bed and how the kids sighed with disappointment, but obeyed anyways and taking in Stella's smile. She had enjoyed her time with the kids. Maybe he should ask her about…starting a family of their own? Or was it too soon?

He sighed softly. He'd think about it. Besides, Mac was good at thinking.

Stella joined him after a moment, pulling up a chair beside him and leaning against him, Mac putting his good arm around her and smiling softly.

"You get ahold of Don?" she asked as she remained comfortably leaning against him.

Mac nodded. "Yeah, he's on his way out now," he said with a yawn.

"You should try to get some sleep," Stella advised.

Mac just smiled and looked at her. "Oh yeah? And pigs fly!" he said, chuckling a little.

Stella smirked and rested her chin on his shoulder, looking up at him. "You are one stubborn _pain in the ass_, Mac Taylor. You know that?" she asked.

Mac smirked. "Yeah, I do. But this pain in the ass needs you to keep him in line," he told her.

Stella smiled and they kissed, one of those passionate kisses that no one ever wants to end.

"Yeah, I know that!" Stella whispered quietly, mussing up his hair with one hand as she sat back down in her own chair.

Mac smirked and shook his head, pulling away from her hand lightly. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Lecture me later, Mrs. Taylor," he teased.

Stella narrowed her eyes at him and shoved him lightly in his good arm, making Mac smirk.

Stella sighed. "You're not going to let me win, are you?" she questioned.

"Nope," Mac replied somewhat innocently, smirking and looking at her.

"You're an idiot," Stella muttered, tossing her hands in the air in defeat.

Mac laughed. "Yeah, maybe I am," he said, "But I'm lucky enough to have the most beautiful woman I could imagine."

Stella looked back to him and smiled softly, leaning against him once more. "I love you Mac Taylor."

"I love you too, Stella."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: So, I am back! Had an awesome trip and also had a long car ride to work out the details of this next chapter in my mind! So, here's your next chapter, and keep your eyes open for the next chapter of "Found and Caught" as well!**

Don pulled in the drive. Three other cars sat in the driveway. He wasn't concerned until he heard a yell from inside the house. He quickly grabbed his gun and got out, racing inside.

Silence met him as he walked in. He quickly took in the scene before him, nowhere near prepared for walking in to something like this.

Sasha had a gun pulled on Mac, whose gaze shifted between Sasha and Don. Fi and Jake had Dawson, Andy, Shelby, their daughters, and Stella in the corner of the room.

When no one else said anything, Don broke the silence. "Mac…what the hell is going on here?"

Mac looked back at him, hearing Sasha cock the gun beside him. He saw Don tighten his grip on the trigger of his gun. "They found us," he said finally.

"We don't have time for this! What's it going to be Detective Taylor?" Sasha growled, bringing Mac's attention back to her.

"Mac, don't do it!" Stella yelled.

Mac looked at her, trying to deal out his attention equally between her, Don, and Sasha.

"Wait, what's going on here?" Don asked, holding up a hand and trying desperately to calm down the situation.

Sasha held the gun to Mac's head and Mac almost flinched from the feeling of the cold metal against his skin. "He's coming with us," Sasha hissed.

"What do you want with him?"

"Don, don't!" Mac said. What threw Don off was the pleading look in his eyes. That wasn't like him. "Just let me do this!" Mac added.

"Mac!" Stella gasped, running over to him and throwing her arms around him. Thankfully, Sasha, Fi, and Jake let her. "I won't let you do this!" Stella told him, looking up at him.

"You have to!" Mac told her, almost to the point of begging her. He knew by going with them he was basically signing his death warrant, but it was the only way to make sure that Fi, Sasha, and Jake didn't kill her, Andy, Shelby, and their kids. "They'll kill all of you if I don't do this. You have to let me do this," Mac said, his voice calmer this time.

Stella looked up in to his searching gaze. "I love you. Just remember that," she said.

Mac nodded. "I know. I love you too."

Stella stepped back and Mac looked back at Don, who looked rather confused and overwhelmed by the situation.

"I want you to take Andy, Shelby, and their kids and go with Stella back to the lab," Mac said.

Don nodded. "What about you?" he asked.

Mac sighed and Fi and Jake walked over to stand beside him alongside Sasha. "I have to take care of a few things with these three," he said, knowing that Sasha still had the gun aimed at him.

Don hesitated for a moment and Mac looked at him, holding his gaze for a moment before he looked down at the floor. "Don, I need you to trust me on this one. I know it's a lot to ask, but I need you to let me go with them. I need you to let me do this."

Don sighed and finally lowered his gun. "You take care of yourself, you hear?"

Mac nodded. "I'll do my best. I'll call you later."

Don nodded and watched as Mac turned, walking off with the three that had been in the house.

"Who were they, Stell?" he asked as he watched the taillights of the car disappear down the road.

"Fi, Sasha, and Jake. They were the ones that kidnapped us," Stella replied.

Don looked back at her. "What do you think they're going to do?"

Mac readjusted his grip on the steering wheel, looking hesitantly in the side mirror on the driver's side door before his eyes returned to the road. Fi and Sasha had bailed out along with Jake and told him to meet them somewhere. Mac wasn't sure where he was heading, but he had very specific directions on how to get there.

He looked up and down the road as he stopped the truck, thinking about turning around and just heading back to Andy's house. It would get him out of the situation, but it would almost guarantee Fi, Sasha, and Jake returning with a double vengeance. He sighed and stepped on the gas again, pulling the truck out in to the intersection he'd come to.

Then he heard a bullet strike the metal of the driver's side door and he ducked instinctively. He glanced back up, seeing the other car coming down the road towards the truck. He slammed the gas pedal to the floor of the truck, glancing in the rearview mirror as he pulled the truck forward to see the other vehicle in pursuit.

"Shit," he muttered. It was bad enough that they'd put him in the truck alone in a part of New York that he wasn't 100 percent familiar with, now they were shooting at him. He frowned a bit.

"Well, I guess those lessons on racing cars will pay off now," he said with a shrug. He ducked again as a few rounds came through the back window of the truck. This was going to be an incredibly long night.

Don paced back in forth in front of his desk at the precinct. "I don't give a damn on how you do it, I just want those three found and brought in!" he said, sounding irritated. He shook his head and ended the phone call he'd been taking and slammed the cell to his desk.

Stella sighed and looked over at him. "There was nothing you could've done. You do know that, don't you?" she asked as she sat on the corner of the desk across from him.

"I could've taken that shot," Don said stubbornly, sitting down.

"Yeah, and that would've gotten everyone hurt, if not killed some of them. You didn't take the shot because you knew people would get hurt," Stella said calmly. "We both know Mac wouldn't have let us change his mind. He was going with them and that was his final decision. You and I have both known him long enough!" she said, getting a bit animated-her hands waving in the air as she tried to make an emphasis on her point.

Don sighed. She was telling him the truth. "Yeah…I know," he said quietly.

Stella sighed and returned her hands to her side, looking over at him. "I know you're scared. I am too. I don't know what they're doing to him. From what I've seen of those two girls, they could well be raping him. I can't be sure, Don, but I know that he was scared and I know that he went with them to keep all of us safe. The least we can do is do what we can to find those three nutjobs and make sure they get put in jail."

Don sighed again and nodded. "Then what the hell are we doing sitting here?" he asked after a moment.

Stella smiled a bit. "That's the way to think about it!" she said, standing and giving him a pat on the shoulder before both of them set to work.

Mac hit the brakes and he heard the tires screech and scuff against the pavement as the tail end of the truck slid around. He shot a glance in the rearview as he fought with the wheel and weight of the truck in an attempt to keep the truck on the road.

Thankfully, the truck straightened out on the road and Mac hit the gas again, trying to think of a way to lose these people that were doing their best to kill him. He could only compare his situation to that of a hunt. The prey runs from the hunter, trying desperately to escape when it seemed that there was no hope of such an escape.

He frowned. He'd have to find somehow to lose them. He was not going to let them get away with this. He'd die trying to get away before he just flat out gave up to them. He might have let them take him and put him in this situation, but he wasn't going to let this situation kill him without a fight.


	7. Chapter 7

Mac frowned as he looked in the rearview. They were still following him and he was quickly running out of ideas on what to do. He wasn't a professional driver in the first place, it didn't help that he had a broken left arm.

He really needed to call Don, but he couldn't risk letting go of the wheel to fish his phone out of his pocket since he only had one hand for driving.

He searched the road ahead of him for some kind of road that he could lose them on quickly, but saw nothing.

This wasn't good.

He glanced in the rearview again as he heard a few bullets clank against the tailgate of the truck.

"Shit," Mac muttered. He didn't have an exact reason for muttering that, but he was in a situation where he didn't know really what else he could do.

He bit at his lip. He was feeling a bit sore and his arm was starting to hurt again and he also had no idea on how he was going to get out of this situation. He had been a bit too distracted by trying to think of way to get away from his pursuers that he didn't realize until a bit too late that the truck had come up beside him.

As soon as he realized that, he slammed on the breaks, causing the truck beside him to catch the nose of his truck rather than the driver's side door. Both trucks were in for a ride then as they both spun, one catching the guardrail along the road and the other catching the banking off the side of the road, sliding down in to the ditch.

"Stella!" Don yelled as he raced up to her from the elevators.

Stella looked at him, alarm showing on her face. "Don, what is it?"

"We just got news of a car crash. The bad part is is that Mac was one of the drivers. It was pretty bad Stella. First officers on scene handed him over to paramedics as soon as they arrived. They're taking him to the nearest hospital as we speak," Don rushed out the story.

"Oh my God…How bad was it Don? We have to get out there!"

Her and Don raced out to Don's car as Don answered her question.

"It was really bad from what I heard, Stell. The front end of the truck was smashed and the truck spun off the side of the road and ended up in the ditch."

"Shit…this is really bad, get us out there!" Stella said.

Don nodded and started the car, starting the drive over to the scene of the crash.

"Detective Taylor?" The nurse tried again, rechecking the detective's pulse as her and several other nurses rushed the detective in for immediate treatment.

"Anything?" the doctor asked as he joined her and the other nurses.

"He's not responding, but he's got a pulse," she responded quickly, the doctor checking the detective's pulse for himself.

He shook his head. "Get him in there NOW! We're losing him fast," he said.

The nurses nodded and headed with the doctor in, one of the nurses breaking off to go hunt down Taylor's team.

**Note: Ok, I know, I know…extremely short chapter, it sucks! I'm ending this chapter here because I'm a little low on muse and I promise to give a good chapter, and possibly two, tomorrow when I get the chance. Sorry guys! Hope you're not too mad with me! –DarkArrow225**


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Ok, so this is my overdue promise being fulfilled. Another chapter and another piece of the puzzle for you all to try and scramble out before I give you the answers!**

"Is he ok? That's all I want to know, and I'd appreciate knowing now!" Stella said, irritated. She frowned as the nurse in front of her sighed.

"He's taken a beating, Mrs. Taylor…" the nurse said.

"It's Bonasera, I haven't had the time to change my last name yet," Stella said, her voice softer this time. That part didn't matter.

The nurse sighed, starting to run out of patience. "We treated him when he came in, ma'am. He's out for now, but we think he'll be fine. I'll take you to be with him."

Stella let out a sigh of relief, thankful Mac seemed to be ok for the moment. She was still a little on the worried side, but she just hoped he'd be fine.

The nurse let her be and Stella staid by Mac's side, holding his hand gently in hers, worried eyes shifting from him to the monitors ever so often. She then looked out at the surrounding area around the hospital, biting lightly at her lip.

Finally she sighed and looked back at Mac lying silently in front of her. "What in the world did they do to you?" she asked softly, not expecting an answer as she gripped his hand tighter in her own.

CSI: NY

"This was totally not an accident," Danny stated as him and Don stood looking down at the tread pattern left on the road. The truck had left them when Mac slammed the breaks in an attempt to avoid the collision.

Then both of their gazes travelled to the two trucks sitting smashed along the road, one basically smashed in to the guardrail, the other one lying at the bottom of the ditch.

"What were they doing with him out here anyways?" Don asked.

Danny shrugged. "If they wrecked Mac, they could've easily made it look like Mac lost control of the truck and never been under question for this," he pointed out.

"Looks like Mac hitting the breaks messed up their plans then," Don said dryly.

Danny sighed and laid a hand on the taller detective's shoulder. "He'll be alright, Mac's strong.

Don sighed and looked over at Danny. "I hope so."

CSI: NY

The hours had drug by slowly at the hospital, but Stella had remained loyally at Mac's side. She shifted in the uncomfortable hospital chair and told herself she really needed to stay awake. She checked the time on her watch. She'd been sitting by him for at least three hours and Mac had been here for at least five.

She frowned, honestly feeling a little bored and knowing she had bottled up energy and anxiety that she needed to share with someone somehow.

She looked back as she felt Mac grip her hand back and she allowed her gaze to travel up and found herself locking her gaze with his.

She smiled softly, relief shining clearly in her eyes. "Hey you," she said.

A small smile appeared on Mac's face. "How long have you been sitting there?" he asked her.

"Three hours. The other two hours that you were here I was pacing," she replied.

His smile widened just a little. "I couldn't have guessed," he said, teasing her a bit.

She smiled and even smirked a bit. "Oh stop it, you scared the hell outta me."

"Sorry about that," Mac told her, smiling a little. There was the hint of an innocent look in his eyes and Stella had to smirk.

"Do you remember anything about what happened in the crash?" she asked.

Mac sighed and shrugged. "A little," he replied. "The last thing I really remember is that other truck plowing in to the front of mine. It all happened so fast and I did hit the steering wheel pretty hard," he said.

Stella nodded. "Just glad you're ok," she said.

Mac nodded. "Good to be here," he agreed. "Did you catch the three of them?"

"They didn't get away unscathed from the crash. They were treated for minor injuries before Flack dragged their asses back to the precinct."

"Good," Mac said.

"Why don't you just rest?" Stella suggested.

Mac smiled a little. "I'll try," he said.

Stella smiled. "Because you know what I'll say if you don't, right?" she asked.

He nodded. "Exactly. Besides…that was just a nightmare. You need room to lie down, too?" he asked, seeing her yawn as he started to complete his sentence.

Stella nodded. "If you could make some, I'd love that," she replied.

Mac smirked and sat up a little, making room for her to at least sit down with him.

Stella smirked and crawled up beside him, laying her head on his shoulder. "You know you didn't have to," she said.

Mac smiled. "Yeah, but I felt like it. These places can get a little lonely, you know?" he replied.

Stella smiled softly. "I love you."

"I love you too, Stell."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N's: So, I do need to apologize for not working more on those other stories for all of you, but my muse is being uncooperative and only coming up with ideas when he feels like right now…so basically he's run away again. *Frown* So apologies from me and I'll probably have to hunt down my muse in order for other chapters of other stories to show up. Anyways, you asked for answers? Want to know how Dawson got tied up in kidnapping Mac and Stella in the first place? Yeah? Well, let's see if this answers any of your still-present questions.**

"Detective Taylor, thanks for meeting me," Dawson said as Mac took a seat across from him in the mostly empty and quiet coffee shop. "How are you?"

Mac shook his head and shrugged. "Doing pretty alright. I'm off work for a while yet, but I'll manage. How are you holding up after all this?" he asked as he looked over at the man seated across from him. "Medical school going well, I hope?"

Dawson rewarded Mac with a smile. "Yeah, it's great. I've always wanted to be a doctor," he replied.

Mac smiled. "Hope I wasn't too stubborn for your first patient," he said, almost laughing.

Dawson even smiled a bit at that. "Not at all, detective. I just did what I could."

"And I thank you for that. You just might've saved my life. Who knows what those girls would've done otherwise?" Mac told him.

Dawson looked at him. The sincerity in the detective's words meant a lot to him. He had honestly been worried that Taylor would hold the kidnapping against him. "Yeah, that's true…"

Mac looked over at him. "You never did tell me what happened with you and those three. How'd you get caught up with them?" he asked gently. It was a touchy subject and he knew it. Even Mac had trouble telling the team what Sasha had done to him when Fi had took Stella out of the room. The thought still sent a chill down Mac's spine.

"At first I thought they saved my life. They took me in off the streets and told me if I helped them out they'd help me out," Dawson replied.

"By keeping you alive?" Mac asked.

Dawson nodded. "Yes. I never knew they'd ask me to break the law."

Mac nodded. "Betrayal of trust is the hardest betrayal to swallow of them all, if not the only type of betrayal," he said.

Dawson shrugged slightly. "I guess what I want to say is sorry."

Mac looked at him, his brows furrowed. "Sorry for what?"

"I helped them kidnap you and your partner," Dawson replied.

"And you helped us escape," Mac pointed out. "Now…I don't know if I'd usually let it go so fast that you kidnapped me and then helped me out, but you saved my life and you saved Stella's life. I couldn't ask for more in exchange for kidnapping us as far as help. She means the world to me…I don't know what I'd do if I lost her…"

Dawson watched as Mac trailed off, noticing he got quieter as he got towards the end of his last sentence. "Thank you."

Mac looked back up at him. "It was the least I could do."

_In interrogation, several months earlier…_

"Why'd you do it?" Flack snapped at Sasha, already ticked off and not needing this girl's jackass of a personality to make it worse.

"For the money and pleasure of course!" Sasha replied, sounding like the answer was obvious.

"Pleasure?" Flack questioned, not sure he wanted to know what she meant by that.

"Your boss," Sasha said. "Damn…" she muttered, shaking her head with what Flack thought looked like a very sick and twisted smile.

"Yeah, I don't even want you to finish that," Don said, waving a hand at her to keep her silent. "Get this bitch out of here," he said to the officer by the door. "I'm through with listening to this."

CSI: NY

"So, how'd it go with Dawson?" Stella asked as she walked down the street with Mac beside her, matching her steps.

"He said he's doing good. Sounds like he's also doing well in Med School," Mac replied.

Stella smiled. "He's a good kid," she agreed.

Mac nodded. "Yeah, he is."

Stella looked at him. "Plans tonight?" she asked.

"Dinner and a movie?" Mac suggested.

Stella smiled and shrugged. "Sounds perfect. Which movie?"

"I was thinking 'R.I.P.D'," Mac replied.

Stella smirked. "That one sounds like fun. It's a date. What time?" she responded.

Mac pulled out his phone with his good hand, his other arm was still in a cast. "7:30 tonight is the time I was thinking," he said.

Stella smiled and kissed him as they both stopped for a moment, Mac kissing her back. "I'll meet you at yours?" Stella offered.

Mac smiled. "Done. Be there at 6, that way we can catch something to eat before we hit the theatre."

"I'll be there. See you later, I gotta get back to the lab," Stella said with a nod as she checked her watch.

Mac nodded. "Alright, see you then."

"You will."

Mac smirked. "I love you."

Stella smiled and looked back at him. "I love you, too."


End file.
